Towards the Olympics: The Evolutionary Origins of Sport

As someone who has been involved in sports history research for many years and has published quite a few books and articles on the subject, some of them on the current website, he has often been exposed to insights, along the lines of "How did I not think of this before?! Does the practice of sports or its active sympathy originate in the imitation of war or perhaps they have more basic origins - in the courtship customs of the ancient man?

Go to the lazy ant (animal), see its ways and be wise. As someone who has been involved in sports history research for many years and has published quite a few books and articles on the subject, some of them on the current website, he has often been exposed to insights, along the lines of "How did I not think of this before?!". And with another hindrance - from most of the forest you can't see the single tree, although it is significant and wide with a top and view - I will raise my insight here briefly.

I will not exaggerate if I say that the expression - sport is nothing but a sublimation of wars and the use of weapons - was carved from the Gothic rock on this subject. In other words, weapons that have lost their cool, including fighting tactics, found themselves, either directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, immersed in the world of refined physical rivalry, relatively speaking, in sports. Moreover, man from the dawn of prehistory, as a warrior, as an ossifying warrior, has hardly changed until today. Beyond all the covers, the settings, the backgrounds and the variety of instruments in many different fields, the human remains, in his "naked", almost unchanged. The refinement around it did not at all change its essence, its goals and the ways to realize them.

The more obvious warlike, survivalist element is of course expressed in the military, combat level, and less so, although it remains as it was, in the sports field, since, as stated above - sport is the sublimation of survival. From that time to the present, belligerence has taken hold in various competitions, starting from rivalries between countries, from tensions between fan audiences (see the Russia-England "value" in the last Euroleague games) to loss of control in competitions between players, and in particular at peak moments of tension that sometimes leads to a loss of control, Shao-Ez celebrates The negative adrenaline and energies bursting straight from the body that originate from historical-prehistoric primacy.

And it is worth paying attention to the facial expressions, to the physical gestures of those who score goals, of those who sink balls into the hoop, of those who subdue the opponent in the martial arts, especially in boxing, and more of this kind, in order to locate in them the battle cry from this and the expression of immanent satisfaction from that of the warrior The ancestor after having eliminated his opponent or succeeded in subduing some animal of prey. And you know what? And certainly not all of you will agree with me - the cutting of the nets around the hoops in the final and wearing them around the neck of the winning player to the thunderous applause of the crowd of fans of the winning team, remind of the Krakoff and its presentation by the winner, or alternatively the winning lion's hunt for the female cubs and their cruel death.

And while I pour/cave into this quasi-formulaic solution, i.e. the affinity between strength and combativeness, the ritualistic religious element to thicken the sacred context between the above two components, one that is expressed in a very wide and varied series of superstitions among players and fans, It seems that my craft is lost. But not!

In fact, I lack a significant link to understand the primary element of individual physical activity from this and group-community from this. And before my eyes run the Darwinist theory of evolution on the one hand and the striking imitation that originates from man's many years of observation of the living world on the other.

We all know and are aware of the fact that in the diverse and rich animal world, fertility is a dominant element in the behavior of males. These prepare themselves, beyond the effect of growth and survival for its own sake, for the big meeting with the potential rivals, in the competition, which is sometimes fatal, for the leadership of the herd, the pack and even for the very individual survival and in the process "wink" at the females. Some of them proudly display their bodies and muscles, others show off their feathers, color, smell and even impressive courtship dances. There are those who prepare well for this, for the long-awaited moment, by considering preliminary training of physical fitness, refining tactics and even skill in using the "weapon of their recovery" which is their body. Such phenomena have been observed in the big cats - lions and tigers, as well as in hyenas, wolves, bears, deer and elk, the kangaroos of all kinds, when it is amazing how they box, kick, bump and scratch, various types of monkeys and marmots and more of this kind, including gnawing productions and even insects.

The battle for leadership of the herd is an inseparable part of a very clear social-sexual system. The dominant male would fertilize the females and in this way take care of the inheritance of his genes, and as a result this important component is a cornerstone in the process of natural selection.

So how does this relate to our case? For my assumption, perhaps wild is something, the sport is not only a sublimation of the primal combat-military and ritualistic-ritual elements, but also a product of the sexual animality of the productions in nature. Is it a genetic process and also a daily observation of how the animals manage their affairs? It is likely a combined phenomenon. The male, perhaps from the beginning of the Homo sapiens period, wanted to impress the female, and this with an attractive body structure and perhaps also in dealing with potential males. This process found its continuous expression in sports competitions and especially strength in wrestling and boxing.

I want to say that some of our cave ancestors, even when they settled down with time and saw themselves as potential leaders of the family/band, the herd/tribe, sought to impress the girls, both by a somewhat threatening external appearance and by a test of strength, and here you have the beginning of the sport .

Suggestive expressions in the Bible? you are welcome. Jacob wants to impress Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob rolls the heavy stone over the mouth of the well so that Rachel, the shepherd, can draw water and water her flock. And the end of such masculine-power bragging was the romantic meeting between them, and the rest is immersed in history.
And perhaps what is written in the book of Zechariah is also involved in our case, and this we learn from other cultures, as it is written: "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all nations." All her burdens will be scratched and scratched..." (Zechariah 3:XNUMX). That is, an expression for attempts to lift a heavy stone in public strength contests.
Another clue lies in the case of the abduction of virgins by the Benjaminites, which lasted for many centuries as a practice with a sacred ritual-customary-traditional seal. The abduction of the virgins and "dragging" them into a marriage involving the Benjaminites is not documented for nothing, because the Benjaminites were known for their strength, body structure and impressive military-combat abilities. Which is relevant to our topic, and the fact that the custom has become sacred in the public's mouth only strengthens this connection. It is true that the Bible connects this with the act of a concubine in Gibeah, with the vow curse that they swore not to marry women to the sons of Benjamin, and later the key was found that would remove the curses and leave the vow intact (something like "go with and feel without"). Everything is true and well and good, except that it seems that this is a cover story that elevates the abduction tradition affair to a miracle. By the way, even in ancient Rome we find a similar abduction process and we are talking about the abduction of virgins from the northern Sabine tribe.

And if he remained in the tribe of Benjamin, it is as follows: "And there was a man from the son of the right, and his name was Kish son of Aviel... the son of a man on the right, a mighty hero, and he had a son, and his name was Shaul, a lad and a good man, and there was no one among the children of Israel better than him, of his stature and height above all the people" (Samuel 2:1 XNUMX-XNUMX). First, there is the genetic phenomenon, that is, the inheritance of physical traits. Second - the physical compliment is emphasized, which is a solid basis for public leadership. Thirdly - in front of our eyes is depicted, so it seems, the worship of bodies, of male strength.

What else? No one is infallible. When David returned from beating the Philistine, the fearsome Goliath, they sang and danced before him "the women from all the cities of Israel sing and dance for King Saul with drums, with joy and in tridents." And the dancing women were interested and said to her: "Strike Saul with his fists and David with his clubs" (7 Samuel 6:XNUMX-XNUMX). And all this to Shaul's displeasure, in terms of poking a finger in his eye, when the women hint, and perhaps in connection with the core of our matter, about their preference for David over Shaul, and not for political reasons, but only physical ones.

And what does the book of Proverbs say about this: "The glory of the young men is their strength..." (Proverbs 29), as he declares that the way of the glory of the young men, that is, the chosen ones of a kind, is the display of their physique and strength. And it is worth emphasizing that this is not just a factual comment, but the author, who according to the written tradition is none other than King Solomon, found it necessary to compliment those young men.

And in the allegory, which contains a cynical-grotesque element, the author of Midrashi mocks the attempt of young men to lift heavy rocks in order to demonstrate their strength and ability (and in front of whom"), which we find an echo of in classical Greek literature.

I do not want to say that in our modern world there is an inseparable connection between sports and sexual attraction and fertility in general on the one hand and I do not want to say the opposite, because there is no connection between these two elements on the other hand. I would like to say that, on the assumption that man has hardly changed since ... until ..., and the combative element in the world of sports stands out and even the ritual-mythical/mystical side such as rituals of players and fans, amulets, blessings and curses, it must be assumed that the mini-Pirionian side also blends into the overall picture , both directly and indirectly, both prominently and insinuatingly, and not only the cases in which actors become modelers-models, but also for the courtship of the female sex after leading sports idols.

And between us, isn't the sexual courtship side prominent in the phenomenon, that teenagers (mainly) develop their bodies and enjoy seeing and showing the "cubes" that are "bursting" from their bellies, both in the gym and certainly in the pool or the sea. And don't, God forbid, start from a point of assumption that I do not, personally, support physical activity and refuse to engage in it. On the contrary!

Correct me if I'm wrong!